Dr. Aparna Khanna, Dean, School of Science has received a grant from DST Nanomission for the project entitled "Synthesis and Characterization of novel nanoparticles and study of their interactions with stem cells”. The grant of Rs 45 lakhs was received in January 2013 for a period of three years. The Co-Principal Investigator of the project is Dr. Dhirendra Bahadur, Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Material Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai.
The project deals with the synthesis, characterisation of biocompatible human serum albumin coated iron oxide nanoparticles (HSA-IONPs) and their effect on human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs). Detailed analysis showed that HSA-IONPs were found to be colloidally stable and did not show any toxicity to the stem cells. Further, the engulfment of the HSA-IONPs did not show any detrimental effect on the differentiation potential of the stem cells into adipocytes, osteocytes and chondrocytes, thereby confirming that the inherent properties of stem cells were maintained. The outcome of the study is that the HSA-IONPs, proves to be a promising alternative for future in vivo studies
A graphical representation of the work is represented below:
Publications:
